Sonko denies claims that he is running Nairobi county from Machakos
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has come out to refute claims that he is running the affairs of City Hall from his Mua Hills home in Machakos County.
This comes after pictures emerged of the first-time governor meeting his cabinet members at his home on Monday with reports indicating that he had decided to stay away from the capital city for fear for his life after his security detail was reduced from 15 to five.
The Monday meeting came about after the county executive committee members had been summoned by the City Hall boss for a round table get-together on Sunday with an insider revealing that another follow up meeting was also held on Tuesday.
“I don’t know why people are claiming that Governor Mike Sonko is under ‘siege’. The City Governor has homes in several towns within Kenya; Garissa, Kisumu, Mombasa, Kilifi, Malindi, Machakos, Nairobi and many other places,” read in part a statement from City Hall deputy director of communication Elkana Jacob.
“Furthermore, he has a right to hold meetings in any of his homes. Therefore, we should desist from making such utterances that depict that Sonko is hiding,” the statement went on.
SONKO’S SECURITY
Mr Jacob said that Governor Sonko is a free man, elected by majority of Nairobi voters and a governor who has fought many cartels which were swindling huge amounts of money from the common wananchi.
The security detail of Sonko was down scaled to five police officers on Tuesday last week before he held a media briefing flanked by a number of cabinet secretaries involved in the Nairobi regeneration project.
Governor Sonko has been at the palatial Athi River home since last week after his nomination of lawyer Miguna Miguna as the next Nairobi county deputy governor to take over from Polycarp Igathe.
On Sunday he gave exclusive interviews to media houses on wide ranging issues touching on his administration, Miguna’s nomination and his plans for the capital city.
The City Hall boss has in the past expressed fears that his life is in danger claiming that a certain government official, whom he hasn’t named, was planning to kill him.
But Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i on Monday defended the scaling down of security details for the governor saying that it is part of a plan to recall 5, 000 officers ‘irregularly’ attached to VIPs.